Devon, PA - The weather was hot, and so was the competition over the course of the first three days of the 2011 Devon Horse Show and Country Fair. The Dixon Oval and Gold Ring provided an elegant backdrop to the nation's top Junior riders ranging in experience from their first time at Devon to showing here most of their young lives.

Some of these incredibly talented individuals will be in the limelight for years to come, while others have chosen to put their passion aside to pursue an education. One thing that they all have in common is achieving their goal of qualifying to be here, and none of them has taken that honor for granted.

Saturday at Devon is almost sensory overload. Junior Hunters and Jumpers are in the Dixon Oval, while the ponies are jumping their hearts out in the Gold Ring. Both rings also featured a crowd favorite. The Lead Line Under Four Years Old and the Lead Line Four and Five Years Old (more than 80 children combined) had the huge crowds of friends, relatives and holiday spectators cheering.

After the conclusion of the rated Small, Medium and Large Pony divisions in the Gold Ring suddenly pirates, Toy Story 2 characters, brides and grooms started appearing in the schooling area. For those unfamiliar to this phenomenon, it is the much loved Pony Hunt Teams, where kids and ponies alike are in costume (we even saw a white pony in a bride's outfit with a garter just below his hock), and compete in teams of 3 around a course culminating in jumping three abreast at the last fence. It doesn't stop there; the parents are encouraged to "bribe" the judges with extremely creative swag to boot! What better way to end what has been a phenomenal three days of competition?

Maybe by winning Pony Sportsmanship Award like Isabel Coleman did. You could tell from her huge smile during the presentation that this was a Devon she would never forget.

IT'S A WRAP - FINAL JUNIOR DAY HIGHLIGHTS

PONY HUNTER CHAMPIONS
It was a Devon to remember for 13-year-old Meredith Darst. She swept the Medium Pony Hunter division with Champion Swingtown and Reserve Champion Enchanted Forest, and was Champion in the Large Pony Hunter division and Devon Grand Pony Hunter Champion on For The Laughter - and was named The Best Child Rider on a Pony.

The daughter of professional Mindy Darst is at the top of every trainer's list as the top pony catch rider. Case in point, she had only ridden Swingtown for the first time a few days before Devon. "He jumps really well and he's a lot of fun. He has a big stride, easy lead changes and he's really slow and quiet," says Darst. Does she ever get attached to any of her catch rides? "There are definitely some that I wish I could ride a lot." Believe it or not, this quiet little person's nickname is "Mad Dog" because she is always so focused on the task at hand. When last seen she was running off to change into her Pony Hunt Team costume.

Speaking of costumes, Madeline Schaefer arrived for her interview in a pirate's costume, having done a quick change after winning the Small Pony Hunter Championship on Hi Lite. The younger sister of top Junior Samantha Schaefer, or the other way around as Madeline tells it, she is no stranger to the winner's circle at Devon.

At the ripe old age of 10 she is already in training with well-known trainer Patricia Griffith of Heritage Farm in New York. One of the keys to her success is the frequent and abundant distribution of peppermints. Particularly to her own pony Flashback, who in addition to treats Madeline's pony loves her miniature donkey. "Today I'm doing "Flash" in the Hunt Teams!" says Schaeffer. She has the system down pat "We're bribing the judges with rum, candy and Pirate's Booty Popcorn AND we've got eye patches! Hunt Teams is the most exciting part about Devon!" she says with a laugh as she reaches into her pocket to show us her good luck charm. "This is in the shape of my miniature donkey's hoof. It always stays in my pocket and it's my good luck charm."

IT'S A WRAP - FINAL JUNIOR DAY HIGHLIGHTS

JUNIOR HUNTER CHAMPIONS
The Final Four for 2011 were Victoria Colvin the Devon Grand Junior Hunter and Overall Small Junior Hunter Champion on Sanzibar as well as the Overall Large Junior Hunter Champion on Touchdown, Hasbrook Donovan on Quality Time Champion in the Large Junior Hunter 16 & 17 division, Hannah Goodson-Cutt the Small Junior Hunter 16 & 17 Champion on Caretano, and Madeline Thatcher and Catch Phrase winners of the Angelo Award.

Victoria Colvin, 13 from Loxahatchee, FL, had the ride on 4 hunters and 2 jumpers at Devon this year, a bit of a departure from years past when she could be seen running back and forth between the Dixon Oval and the Gold Ring riding both ponies and horses with her trainers Scott Stewart and Ken Berkley. Tori has had a clean sweep streak going at Devon for the last 2 years, with Ovation and Way Cool in 2010 and Sanzibar and Touchdown in 2011 as well as winning her section of the A.S.P.C.A. Maclay Horsemanship Class.

Tori says that 6-year-old Touchdown is a lot of fun to ride "He spooks sometimes because he's green but he is really fun! I've only shown him 5 weeks, and Scott has done him a couple of weeks, but he hasn't shown that much. I thought the first day maybe he'd spook a little bit but I thought he would be fun. Tori's other superstar 8 year old Sanzibar is a fairly new partner for her. The two have only been together since WEF. "He has an amazing canter. It's like being on a couch" says Tori. When asked if Sanzibar's owner had come to Devon to watch her horse Tori replied "No, she has this superstition that if she watches her horse he won't go well. So now I don't think she'll ever watch him."

Seeing Tori in the Junior Jumpers is also something new this year. Although it seems like a dramatic departure from the slow and controlled hunters, Tori is having a blast doing it. "It's a lot of fun 'cause you can go fast and do whatever you want!"

Hasbrook Donovan, 16 from Gainesville, Florida is trained by Don Stewart. She says that winning on Quality Time (aka Jack) was really important to her because, "I haven't been champion here yet. It's a really fun place to show, and I'm glad I got to ride such a nice horse here. He was really good this whole weekend. This is my second Devonon him. We won the Stake last year, but I don't think we were Champion or Reserve."

Hannah Goodson-Cutt, 17, from Beverly Hills, California has been to Devon before, but has never been Champion until this year when she and Caretano won the Small Junior Hunter 16 & 17 Championship this year. "I've never been Champion at Devon before. I've been third overall a number of times.... This is my last Junior year and my last major east coast show before I go off to college (GeorgetownUniversity) so being Champion with a horse I've done really well on, and the fact that he started the hunters with me means a lot."

Hannah shares that Caretano had been a jumper prior to being cast in his newest role as one of the top hunters in the country. "We bought him from the Dotson family. Paige had done him in the jumpers and felt that with his amazing jump he could be a hunter, and we were Champion the first week I tried him, but it took a good year to transform him into a hunter and to where we are today."

This win was a poignant one for Hannah as she will be leaving riding behind when she heads to Georgetown in the fall. "It's a complete change. This (win) also meant a lot because I'm not going to be riding this Indoors. It's a hard school and I really have to make the commitment. I want to major in operational information, a management ~ business major."

Birthday girl Madeline Thatcher, 15 (today) from Salt Lake City, Utah and her horse Catch Phrase were the winners of The Angelo Perpetual Trophy. "The Angelo Award is to be presented to the Junior Hunter horse that, in the opinion of the judges, best exemplifies the classic hunter horse in movement, jumping style and presence. This award is not based on points won in the show. Donated by the Miller-Dinan Family."

This was a significant achievement for Thatcher and 9-year-old Catch Phrase. "This is Catch Phrase's first Devon, he's only a First Year (Green) horse. I thought he went into the ring, knew his job, and was very well behaved. He spooked a little on the flat, but I don't blame him, there was a band and all sorts of people...I think he won the Angelo Award because he goes so nicely....like a traditional hunter. He feels like that. He has a big stride so you float the reins and he just lopes along."